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Fred
at Divisadero & Oak, San Francisco - 1958 |
Fred
Tautenhahn opened his first Service Station (Shell)
on Divisadero & Oak Streets in San Francisco in
1958.
In
those days, Car Washing in Gas Stations was very rare
and only by hand. In 1960, Fred’s station was
picked for a test of a new Car Washing process. A
large vending type machine with a hose and nozzle
was placed in an outdoor parking stall which you could
put in a quarter and select soap or rinse.
This
first experience with Car Washing, ultimately lead
Fred to building Full Service conveyor type Car Washes
in San Francisco, Daly City, San Mateo and Redwood
City during the late 1960's and 1970's.
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Fred
at Westlake, Daly City - 2003 |
Over
the next 20 years, Fred became involved in many automotive
related ventures and built more Car Washes, during
this time he expanded and installed the “Touchless”
Car Washing concept in his own locations in 1990.
Various
types of “Touchless” Car Washes are sprouting
up across the country, Fred’s goal is to utilize
“touchless.com” as a National Car Wash
directory and location finder. This web site would
also provide coupons for discounts and loyalty rewards.
General
Automotive Systems, Inc. (GAS) is the corporate entity
that was formed in 1968 which owns and operates “touchless.com”
and “1800CarWash;” GAS Inc. also operates
Fred’s other businesses, Gas & Wash Partners,
Car Wash Enterprises, Inc., and Hillsdale Shell, Inc.
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Fred's
Son Dean |
Fred's
Son Guy |
Lynda
Borg |
Fred’s
two sons, Dean and Guy have been learning the “ropes”
for the last 10 years now and are being positioned
for future operations.
Lynda
Borg has served as our Office Manager for the past
15 years. Lynda started working for Fred in 1983 as
a driver for one of his companies, "Mr. T's Limousines."
During the following 22 years, her skills and experience
have made her indispensable in keeping everything
running smoothly in a hectic environment.
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